Outreach Group

Next weekend, Angus, one of our parishioners will be joined by two other Catenians to talk about the work which they do and to invite others to join. If you would like to know more, before the weekend, do have a look at:- The Catenians

Assisted Dying Bill: Call to Action (Sussex),Wednesday 5 August, 7pm St Michael’s RC Church, Worthing, BN13 3AL. Join Dr Dominic Whitehouse, Consultant in End of Life Care , as he explains the current position on the Assisted Dying Bill, which is due to be voted on, for the second time, in the House of Commons on 11 September - it is essential to contact your MP to urge that they vote against the Bill, even if you contacted them last year. No need to book, all are welcome.

A reminder to parents of the changes to school admissions policies where schools, such as St. Andrew’s, Leatherhead, are over-subscribed. PLEASE SEE THE DETAIL on the parish web-site at: https://www.sjcc.org.uk/schools A certificate of Catholic practice, will now, likely be required, such certificate can only be given where there is weekly attendance at Mass for at least two years.

On Thursday afternoon, Lauren Edwards MP published her assisted suicide Bill which is near-identical to Kim Leadbeater’s deeply flawed and unsafe Bill from the previous parliamentary session. It retains dozens of serious flaws identified by Royal Colleges, professional bodies, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and disability, mental health and domestic abuse charities. The Bill was published on the day MPs left Westminster for the summer recess, leaving them very little parliamentary time to examine it before its Second Reading on Friday 11 September. By bringing back the Bill in near-identical form, its supporters are also keeping open the highly controversial possibility of using the Parliament Acts to force it into law if the House of Lords does not pass it again. This makes the vote on 11 September even more important. TAKE ACTION We have just updated our Support Not Suicide campaign email tool. The campaign page will look familiar, but the email your MP receives now explains what has been published today, why the proposed use of the Parliament Acts is so concerning and why MPs must vote NO at Second Reading on 11 September. Even if you have contacted your MP before, please write to them again using this updated tool. This is new information that your MP needs to see. Please click the button below to contact your MP now . Every email helps demonstrate that there is serious and growing opposition to bringing back the same unsafe Bill and attempting to force it into law.

The Dorking foodbank is looking for the following items this month:  honey, marmalade, coffee, tea, washing tablets and razors but all personal hygiene items (body wash, shampoo) and non-perishable food are always gratefully received. If you are able please donate to the Foodbank Box inside the side door and it will be taken to the depot by members of our congregation. Alternatively, consider donating on line to the Trussell Trust which runs foodbanks throughout the country.

Admissions to Catholic Schools and the Certificate of Catholic Practice: -The Diocesan Education Service has updated its Admission Policies to bring it in line with the National Catholic Education Service and to ensure compliance with the mandatory School Admission Code which all Admission Authorities are legally required to follow. Our schools will still prioritise Catholic applicants and a certificate of Baptism will still be used to identify this. This will eventually remove the requirement to seek a parish priest’s signature on the Supplementary Information Forms' (SIFs). However, in any case where a school is oversubscribed with Catholic applicants, it will be necessary to rank further the Catholic applicants. To do this a 'Certificate of Catholic Practice' (CCP) will be used in which the local priest(s) will affirm that 'this child and his/her family are known to me and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the child is from a practising Catholic family'. (The Guidance from the Diocese, following the National Catholic Education Service model, states that for the purposes of the Certificate of Catholic Practice, a person is a practising Catholic if they observe the Church’s precept of attending Mass on Sundays and holidays of obligation.) This certificate will be needed for those applying from this autumn for a place at St Andrew’s for Admission in September 2027, and going forward. Initially, in moving to a new system, the onus will be on parish clergy to make a judgement on these matters. However, Deanery clergy and the Diocesan Education Service are working on a form for use in coming years whereby families can indicate and celebrate their participation at Mass; indeed families should regard the change as a reminder of the need to be engaged with the life of the local Church, that is, the parish – not simply because they desire a school place for their child but because it is first and foremost their faith community, because worshipping God and being fed by Christ in word and Sacrament is what we are about and because, as children of God, families want their children to be supported in their journey of faith.  More comprehensive details can be found on the parish and St. Joseph’s School web sites and the bright yellow coloured sheet on the shelf by the side entrance of the church.

Please continue to pray for those undertaking public exams and for their families. These can therefore be anxious and tense times, both for those undertaking exams and for their families and friends, so, even if you are not directly involved in such matters, please do keep those concerned in your prayers. Very many thanks.

The disability group have set up a petition requesting that MPs do not cave to the pressure of bringing back the ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ tabled by Kim Leadbeater but which ‘fell due to a lack of time’. You can find the petition and contact your MP at:- Tell your MP to help stop the assisted dying Bill from returning Many thanks.

GIFT AID ENVELOPES 2026/2027 :- As always, our grateful thanks to all those who are able to make financial contribution to the parish via the ‘Gift Aid’ scheme. For those who do so via the envelope system, we are pleased to tell you the envelopes for this tax year 26/27 are available in the sacristy, please collect your box with your name on a printed label on it at the earliest opportunity. Very many thanks.  Gift Aid and the ‘card machines ’:- Just a reminder that parish and diocesan donations via the card machine can be ‘Gift Aided’ if the card has been registered on one of the machines for Gift Aid, with the proviso that you, the donor, use the same ‘bank card’ each time to make any such donation. We will advise in the next couple of weeks of someone being available to assist and help / show individuals wishing to make ‘Gift Aided’ contributions in this way. That said, we advise that ‘third party donations’ such as CAFOD where Gift Aid is encouraged, would require individuals to put their details on the envelopes provided by the charity and indicate ‘donation via card payment’, with the amount specified; this will then be forwarded to the particular charity. Very many thanks for your understanding.